Classrooms left out in tax increase
Board members disagree on whether schools will suffer
Charleston County residents will see an increase on their property tax bills, but none of that extra money will go to improving instruction in classrooms.
School board members disagree about whether the board made the right decision on raising taxes and whether schools will suffer next year.
The board on Monday night spent hours arguing about its budget for next year. Those who voted in favor of it said they believe the district has more than enough money to cover its classroom needs next year.
They said they had no control over the tax increase, which will go only to pay off construction projects agreed to by previous boards.
Those who voted against the budget said the board approved a bigger cumulative tax hike than the one proposed by district staff. They said the lack of a tax increase for classrooms will hurt education and hamper the district's ability to absorb future funding cuts.
The school board approved a $318.3 million operating budget, which pays for classroom expenses, without a tax increase for next year. It's about $5 million less than the $323.5 million operating budget from this year.
The board also gave its OK to increasing the debt-service budget, which pays debt on new or renovated buildings, to $75 million from $60.7 million. That caused taxes to increase about 15.5 percent.
Anyone who owns property in the county will see their tax bill increase. Those who own homes valued at $200,000 can expect to see their taxes go up $32 to $223, while those who own a second home valued at $200,000 will pay $48 more in taxes for a total of $335.
Those who voted in favor of the budget — Chris Collins, Ruth Jordan, Elizabeth Kandrac, Arthur Ravenel Jr. and Ray Toler — said the tax increase for the debt-service budget couldn't be avoided. The district committed to the construction debt years ago, and it has to pay it.
District officials had proposed a compromise. They would take longer to pay off construction debt, which would have reduced taxes on that budget.
They hoped that would make a tax increase on the operating side — meaning more money for classrooms — more palatable. Those in the majority didn't go for it.
Ravenel said his primary concern was not raising taxes on the operating budget because of the recession. It's expected that educators will say they won't have enough money for classrooms without a tax increase, he said.
"They always say that," he said. "They always have all kind of money for everything in the world they want to do. ... It sent a good signal to the public. The school board can be fiscally responsible."
The board still needs to find $3 million to cut if it wants to avoid furloughs for administrators and teachers. Collins said the district has more than enough places to find the money it needs instead of asking for a tax increase or cutting teacher salaries.
"On a $300 million budget, 1 percent is $3 million," he said. "We're not asking 10 percent. We're asking 1 percent. You should be able to find that somewhere."
Officials said their budget already is stretched thin after absorbing $16 million in mid-year budget cuts. Board Vice Chairman Gregg Meyers said he was unsure that board members understood what they did in approving next year's budget.
Cuts such as bus transportation to magnet schools could be on the table as the board tries to bridge the gap, he said.
"My feeling was we were boxing the district into a financially precarious position," Meyers said. "Two months into next year, when the state tell us to cut our budget, we're going to have no alternative for layoffs because of last night. ... I think we've done damage to our education system without question."
Board Chairwoman Toya Green said the district's proposed budget was a good compromise between the desire to avoid a tax increase and not sacrifice the quality of education, and the approved budget does far less in lessening pain that classrooms will feel.
Board member Chris Fraser agreed.
"I would've much rather put resources in the classroom than accelerate the payment of debt," he said.
"We are trying to make progress in schools with children, and as we take away resources, reduce school spending and reduce flexibility in spending, that is not going to further our goals and objectives," he said.
Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
theronce (anonymous) says...
Oh, my gracious, after demonizing the governor over that $700 mil that they did finally get that (gulp)...I'm just shocked that they do not have enough money yet..(swoon).
June 24, 2009 at 7:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dawhetsell (anonymous) says...
They are like pigs at a feed trough, they never get enough money, they always want more for their pet programs.
June 24, 2009 at 7:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlestt (anonymous) says...
Can't Obama send more pixie dust?
June 24, 2009 at 7:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Southern_Cousin (anonymous) says...
The district has let the New School Construction costs get them into a pinch. All the while, the program administrator is getting awards for his costly 'innovative designs' - which taxpayers now have to struggle to pay for.
The district has more money than the Kuwaites. Sorry, if administrators have to cut travel perks (for training! yeah right) delivered deli lunches (free lunch), picture framing and new office furniture, and each administrator doesn't get a brand new laptop next year, welcome to the real world.
June 24, 2009 at 8:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoelaces (anonymous) says...
Each time the question of where money is coming from for new construction came up at my school, we were always told that money comes from a different "pot." The other money woes had nothing to do with construction. I guess that pot is empty????
Why not maintain what we have and put a freeze on building?
A new school building does NOT make the school. The clientele (parents and students), teachers, and administration MAKE or BREAK a school. Yes, in THAT order.
June 24, 2009 at 9:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
1dyankee (anonymous) says...
Considering the rankings of SC schools, why would ANYONE think that the CCSD cares about the education of the students? But we do have some beautiful schools.
June 24, 2009 at 9:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bornin43 (anonymous) says...
Same old, same old from the school board. For the last 50 years, they have had the same story every year. We need more money, we need more money, but when we give them more money through higher taxes, they spend it to build new high tech buildings instead of repairing our Neighborhood Schools. Parents don't want their children riding a school buss for an hour every morning and evening just to get to a new school way out in the boonies. They want their children to be able to attend schools close to home where there is a neighborhood connection. But the school board wants to close down all of the local schools and send the children to Mega Schools serving a thousand students. If our neighborhood schools are in such bad repair that they can not be used, whose fault is that? It is the School Boards, for not giving Building Fund money to the districts for repairs.
When my children were in school, I worked with the PTA to try to repair the schools they went to. I was constantly told that we could not arrange for volunteers to paint the school for free, or volunteers to patch the roof of the school, or volunteers to build a breezeway from the buss unloading zone to the main door of the building because the School Board would not allow that type of work to be done on a volunteer basis. When we applied to the School Board for funds to repair the roof (for the 10th year in a row) we were told that there were no funds for such repairs.
June 24, 2009 at 9:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
And what is the frequency of rotation on aging buses.
June 24, 2009 at 10:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
J_Mommy (anonymous) says...
Wow! So...even after all that they may furlough the teachers more. Since they have put a freeze on salary increases this means that they are asking people to come back on a pay cut. No mention in this article of the other programs that have already been cut for the year. Teachers are not getting the meager classroom supply checks that help them provide materials for their classrooms. Unless most parents seriously step up and actually purchase supplies from the supply list, many children will be going without basic classroom supplies. So sad!
June 24, 2009 at 2:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JC (anonymous) says...
Someone in a higher position nees to step in and stop this stupidness! There is a recession. People are out of work. NOW is not the time to raise taxes for something that isn't absolutely necessary. Taxpayers, businesses and governments are cutting back wherever they can and then some and these idiots want to spend what they and WE don't have!
June 24, 2009 at 2:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nappyd (anonymous) says...
So property values are going down yet they're raising taxes?
Even with the budget cuts they've had, this just sounds like money-grabbing from the school board. It's not just them that's had to cut back, but they act like it.
June 24, 2009 at 2:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
1963 (anonymous) says...
What if this economy falls into a depression then no one will be able to pay any property taxes? What happens then?
June 24, 2009 at 4:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
GeecheeBoi84 (anonymous) says...
The #1 improvement the classrooms need are qualified teachers. If SC would put up the money to retain some of its teachers with Bachelors, Masters and Doctorates, then the quality of the school/students would increase. As with mostly every other profession, the majority of Charlestonians get their degrees and haul a** to a city where they'll be appreciated, and only think of coming back for retirement.
June 24, 2009 at 4:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
statusquo (anonymous) says...
Good post here, first, the responsibility of educating my children is my responsibility. Second, if you believe the circus going on at Calhoun is going to change you're in for a shock, third and probably most important stop electing based on family ties, race and gender. The education debacle going on in SC is a result of years of neglect and it will take years to undo it. SC has a labor based economy therefore a labor based educational system. Our wonderful leadership predetermined our destiny many years ago.
June 24, 2009 at 7:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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